Pi 


0 


782 


ft 


0 

O 

< 

fl- 

0 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

<> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS  OF  COLORADO 


£  M 1 1  n  i  n  Cj    ct-no    c  •  \  a  i  1  r  o a  ^     funnel    C^  o  i  n  pa  n  1 1 


LKTTKR   FROM  GOVERNOR   PITKIX. 


.  W'.Pitkin, 

i  J.i ill 

;'  '*     ) 
'  >FFICE, 
DI-NYI:!;.  July  :',i>,  1881.  I 

the  Loveland  Pass  Wining  and 
.cd  Tunnel  Company,  Denver,  Colo. : 

DKAI:   SIP.:  —  Your  favor  -d,  in 

which  you   ask   my  opinion  as  to  the  practi- 

•  tunnel  through  the  Continental 

Divide  at   Lovelaml  Pass,  for  both  mining 

and  railroad  pni ; 

As   !    have  nev<  r  been  over  that  i ' 

ifi  irma- 

The  Continental  Divide,  for  a   long  dist- 
' \\   that   [>ortion  of  ti:<  ntain 

numerous    mineral    deposits,  ;nid    I    believ 

•s  of  striking    bodi<  - 

such  a  tunnel  as  you  prop.  diem. 

The  opini  spetent  mining  « 

lued   the  localit\ 

•  -  than   mine.     If  thi- 

ieiit  -ixe  to  admit  of  its  IK  - 

1  by  railway  oom panics  it  will,  in  my 

ftt   to  that   j 
of  the  State. 

a  rich  in  mineral 
/ing   and    agricultural 


lands.     Up  to  the  present  time  the  rai 
facilities  have  been  very  me;t_ 
xhe  altitude  of    L..vehu  • 

chat,  in  my  judgment,  it  can 
,    j 

able  for  any  company  or  compani< 
lesire    t«>    'mild    into    Summit,    Grand   and 
Kontt  Counties,  and  give  the  people  i 
countu  -  iiiectiou  with  Denver,  and 

at  the  sarne  time  afford  a  shon 

... 

with  the  Central  Pacific  Kam 
. 


From  the  Rocky  Mount,-.  July  20, 

THROCOH  LO'VKI-AM)  PASS. 


One  of  th  /-.riant  enterpri<( 

\\\\<  iieeii  undertaken  in  Colorado  is  the  tun- 
nel through    Loveland    Pa>s   on  which  work 
will  be  beg, in  this  week,  as  it  will  n 
connect!)-.!:-  link  between    Denver  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  State  whose  mineral  ' 
being  rapidly  developed  on  every  hand.      It 
is  pot  a  railway  scheme,  neither  is  it  in  the 
sts    of.    or   antagonistic   to,  any  lines. 
The  tunnel  will  be  constructed  and  ? 
"U   the  same   princip!-  '  ridue 

Louis.     That  i--, 

it  will  belong  to  an  independent  company 
and  any  railroad  will  be  able  to  run  their 
cars  through  it  by  paying  toll.  The  tunnel 


will  be  from  3,000  to  3.500  feet  long  and -will 
be  laid  with  both  broad  and  narrow  gauav 
tracks.  The  Company  also  propcses  to  lay 
the  approaches  to  the  tunnel. 

A  very  brief  glance  will  show  the  im- 
mense advantages  the  tunnel  will  be  to  Colo- 
rado and  Denver,  and  a  few  facts  will  explain 
this  more  than  any  mere  comment.  The 
town  of  Dillon  is  about  thirty  miles  from 
Georgetown,  on  the  Pacitic  slope  of  the  con- 
tinental divide,  and  is  situated  at  a  point 
where  all  of  the  streams  that  How  down  on 
the  western  side  converge  to  emptv  them- 
selves into  the  Blue  river,  thu>  forming  the 
best  point  of  outlet  for  railroads.  The 
extensions  of  the  l\io  Grande  and  South 
Park  have  already  l.een  built  nearly  to 
Dillon,  thus  the  connection  through  the 
proposed  tunnel  will  make  a  complete 
circle  through  the  wealthiest  portion  of  the 
State.  One  of  the  many  advantages  of  the 
scheme  is  the  bringing  of  the  rich  mining 
districts  immediately  over  the  range  at  this 
point  in  close  communication  with  Denver. 
Decalur,  Montezuma,  Breckenridge,  Frisco, 
Ivokomo,  Preston  and  many  other  prosper- 
ous mining  camps  will  be  less  than  l:alf  the 
traveled  distance  from  the  Capital  of  the 
State,  and  Leadville  will  I  e  lex  than  120 
miles  hy  the  proposed  tunnel  route  from 
this  city. 

The  eastern  roads  that  now  come  into 
Denver  make  the  city  practically  their 
terminus.  The  Loveland  Pass  Tunnel  will 
give  them  all  the  opportunity  to  run  through 
the  divide,  into  those  portions,  of  Colorado 
which  contain  so  much  undeveloped  min- 
eral wealth.  It  will  bring  the  cities  of 
Gilpin  and  Clear  Creek  Counties  into  elo>e 
communication  with  Summit  Co.untyand  the. 
Leadville  district,  in  fact,  the  communication 
through  this  tunnel  will  be  a  boon  to  all  the 
railroads  of  the  State  and  injurious  to  none. 
The  articles  of  incorporation  have  been 
filed  and  work  has  been  commenced  at 
both  ends  of  the  tunnel,  and  it  is  calcula- 
ted that  within  a  year  the  road  will  be  com- 
pleted through  the  pass  from  (u'orgetown 
to  Dillon. 

The    primary  object  of  the  Tunnel  Com- 


j  pany  will  be  to  strike  the  rich  veins  of  -»ro 
!  which   are   known   to   exist  in  that  : 
!  and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  mineral 
|  found    will    make  it    a  very    profitable    in- 
vestment.    Afterwards  it  will  be  utilized  for 
the   railroad    purposes    already    explained. 
As  before  stated  the  railroad  portion  of  the 
scheme  is  not  intended  to  be  worked  in  the 
interests  of  any  road  or  roads.    It  will  simply 
be  a  highway  through  the  mountains  for  the 
use  of  all  railn  ads  to  enter  that  Kldorado  of 
mineral  treasure  that  lies  unexplored  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State. 


From  the  Denver  Tribune,  July  21,  1881. 

THROUGH  LOVELAND  PASS. 


A    JilcJi 


j    <Jrrta;,hs'l   fo   ln'iii;/   Pt.irtfic 

arer  Denv( 


Articles  of  incorporation  of  the  Loveland 
Pass  Mining  and  Railroad  Tunnel  companv 
have  been  duly  filed  with  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  incorporators  are  Hon.  "W.  A. 
II.  Loveland  and  A  II.  Clements,  K>«|.,  of 
!lr'-  city,  with  ex-Governor  W.  }I.  Stone,  of 
Iowa,  and  Colonel  Edward  J(ee;i.  of  ,\ev 
York.  The  enterprise  which  tl 
men  have  undertaker,  !.-  certainly  one  that 
comu.emU  it.-elf  to  the  favorable  c,»!-ider;t- 
tion  of  the  people.  For  many  vears  it  has 
been  apparent  that  Loveland  Pass  occupies 
a  key  prsition  on  the  continental  gauge,  and 
would  some  day  become  the  gateway  through 
which  all  the  direct  lines  of  railroad  to  the 
Pacific  slope  must  Mirely  travel.  Bv  this 
route  the  circuitous  lines  now  existing  be- 
tween Denver  and  the  objective  points  and 
valuable  mining  districts  beyond  the  Divide 
will  be  greatly  shortened,  materially  reduc- 
ing both  time  and  expense.  The  town  of 
1  )illon,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Blue. 
Snake  and  Ten  Mile  rivers,  will  soon  become 
the  concentric  point  for  all  the  railroads 
seeking  the  rich  country  along  the  western 
border  of  the  State.  From  I  )enver  to  Dillon, 
the  most  accessible  line  is  evidently  through 
the  Loveland  Pass,  only  a  distance  of  eighty- 
two  miles  —  thus,  as  will  be  seen,  directly 
connecting  the  Denver  system  of  roads  with 
i  the  extended  regions  of  Western  Colorado. 


Through  this  prop<  sed  tunne!  a  road  can  be 
constructed  from  Denver  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
at  least  1-">0  mile.>  nearer  that:  the  present 
route  by  Cheyenne  over  the  Union  Pacific. 
In  short,  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
the  success  of  this  enterprise  to  the  entire 
State,  will  conclusively  appear  from  a  glance 
at  the  map  with  a  knowledge  of  the  streams 
and  mountain  ranges. 


From   the   Daily   Register    Call,   Central   City,   July 
25th,  1881. 

A  NEW  CORPORATION. 


means  of  the  Loveland  pass  will  be  enablec 
to  make  a  formidable  foe  for  competing 
lines  already  in  the  field  and  in  course  of 
operation.  Mr.  Loveland  is  the  oldest  rail- 
road financier  in  the  state,  and  whatever  he 
puts  his  hands  to,  provo  -m •<-t-<t'ul.  In  this 
last  move  of  his,  the  UK<,ISTKU-(  'ALL  sees 
no  reaxni  why  it  >hould  prove  an  exception 
to  the  general  rule.  This  tunnel  enterprise 
is  certainly  one  of  great  importance  to  the 
commercial  interests  of  Colorado,  and  our 
people  everywhere  will  be  anxious  for  its 
success. 


TII in,'!  (_'<>inp«i>>/  Fully  Incorporated. 

Among  the  many  new  incorporations  that 
have  (juite  recently  filed  articles  with  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  Denver,  is  the  Love- 
land  Pass  Mining  and  Kailroad  Tunnel 
Company. 

This  tunnel  passing  through  the  continen- 
tal or  back-bone  divide,  which  separates  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic  from  those  of  the 
Pacific,  has  deep  significance  with  those  wh 


From  the  Railway  and  Mining  Gazette,  Denver,  Aug. 
i,  1881. 

LOVELAND  PASS  TO  BE  TtNNELED. 

}\'o,('Alrn,f?y  /,',;/"«.- 

the   Scheme. —  The   Ot>/<<-t   nut    /),/•   J7///////y 
Al"n  '.  lm.t  fur  Rniliniy  and  Tou-road  Pur- 
poses.- -An  .h'fct'flcitf  Proiect.—  ^ 
bun.  its  Financial  Riwilf.*. 

A  strong  company  1  earing  the  above  name, 
and  having  in  view  the  twofold  object  indi- 
cated by  the  title  assumed,  have  filed  articles 


wish  a  direct  line  to  Leadville  and  other  ,  of  incorporation  with  ti;e  Secretary  of  State, 
mining  camps  on  into  Hah,  which  are  now  and  wLth  an  air  ot-  business  which  looks  very 
only  reached  by  a  circuitous  route,  which  encouraging,  have  set  parties  to  work  at  both 
the  following  distance  table  of  competitive  ends  of  the  proposed  tunnel.  The  advan- 
routes  will  more  fully  illustrate,  giving  the  tages  of  this  enterprise,  not  only  to  its  im- 


several  approaches  by  rail  to    Leadville  by 


Miles. 
•    279 


ie-e  routes: 

Denver  to  Leadville,  via  Rio  Grande  . 

"      South  Park  .    .    . 
"      Loveland  Pass  .    .    . 

(jiving  a  preference  to  the  Loveland 

r  over  100  per  cent,  in 
n. 


mediate   promoters,  but  to  this  city  and  the 
State  at  la  rye  ran  hardly  be  estimated*-. 

A  casual  glance  will  show  that  the  incor- 
porators  will  soon  realize  on  their  invest- 
ment from  the  manv  rich  lodes  which  their 
operations  are  bound  to  cut;  but  however 
much  thev  mav  be  benefited  bv  mineral,  it  is 


route  of  101  miles, 

its  favor  in  cost  of  construction,     I>y  refer-    to  the  adaptation  of  the   tunnel   to  railroad 

ence  to  the  latest  maps  it  will  be  observed    traffic,  to  which   the  outsider  will   naturally 

that  it  is  almost  a  direct  line  over  a  com  par-    look  for  anything  directly  favoring  him,  and 

atively  very  easy  grade;  one  not  exceeding    looking,  it   is   very  apparent  where  Ms  «ad- 

3  per  cent.     Passing  through   the  great  con-    vantage  comes  in. 

tinentai  divide,  it    will  not  only  open  up  a  I      The   tunnel    i.s   to   be  three   thousand   to 

yrcat  highway,  but  will  also  be  the  means  of   thirty-five  hundred  feet  in  length,  equipped 

cutti-ng   many  mineral  bearing  veins.     The    with  both  broad  and  narrow  gauge  tracks  on 

geology  and  mineralogy  of  the  country  war-    which  any  line  may  run  their  cars  by  paying 

rants  this  conclusion.  toll,  as  the  tuunel  will  be  in  the  hands  of  an 

The  length  of  the  proposed  tunnel  is  3,100  independent  company  who  will  not  discrim- 
feet,  work  having  been  commenced  on  both  '  inate  for  or  against  any  parties.  This  Um- 
approache*.  Buildings  are  being  erected  in  nel  will  make  of  Dillon,  which  lies  thirty 
order  that  work  may  be  carried  on  in  wintry  miles  from  Georgetown  on  the  Pacific  slope, 
weather.  The  tunnel  will  be  constructed  at  quite  a  railroad  center,  as  it  is  already  being 
a  depth  of  800  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  approached  by  the  D.  A:  K.  G.  and  the  South 
pa.— ,  and  carried  15  feet  wide  and  18  feet  in  Park,  and  bring  the  rich  mineral  region  in 
height.  This  affords  ample  room  for  either  that  vicinity  in  easy  communication  with 
a  narrow  or  standard  gauge  track.  Denver.  Chihuahua,  Frisco,  Kokomo  and 

The  Denver  and  Kio  Grande  and  the  other  camps  will  have  facilities  for  shipment 
South  Park  roads  are  vieing  with  each/other  j  of  their  ores  which  they  now  lack  to  a  con- 
to  command  this  trade,  and  it  is  not  improb-  j  siderable  degree,  and  will  be  to  all  purposes 
able  that  a  third  road  will  step  in,  and  by  j  one-half  nearer  Denver  than  at  present, 


mutual  adv;. 

•ue  camp  itself  will  he  less  than 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  distant  by  way  ! 
of  the  tunnel  which  will  be  an   incalculable  : 
saving  of  time  and  money  tolhe  shipper  and  ! 
traveler.     \\'ithin  a  year  the  tunnel  will  be 
cut  from  Georgetown  to  Dillon  and  when  the 
plans    of   a    certain    powerful    company,    to 
build  another  line  to  Georgetown  from  this 
place  are  put  into   operation,  we    will   have 
the  further  benefit  of  competition.      Eastern 
no  longer   pause  at  the  -olid  bar- 
rier the  Rockies   have    heretofore   presented 
to  their  advance,   but    may,   upon   the  com- 
of  this  tunnel,  sweep  through  into 
.    which,  though 

known  to  contain  great   wealth  in  mineral, 
still   await    development   which  AVI  11    follow- 
in  marvelously  short  order  when  communi- 
cation is  opened  between   them   and  the  rest 
world   by    a    more   easy   and   feasible 
'ue.  Beside  the  developments  already  under 
way  will  be   invigorated,  receive  a  n- 

»orn  of  the  greater  prosperity  promised. 
Towns,  counties,  and   railroads   will  alike 
:efited,  while  those    wh<>   are   injured 
Avill    be  such  a  pitiful  .minority  as  to  be,  in 
view  of  the  general  good  accruing  to  people 
and  things,  hardly  worth  a  moment's  consid- 
eration.       As     before    stated,    the    primary 
6f  the  incorporators  is  to  run  the  tun- 
nel for  the  i 


til 


><e  of  mineral  development 

i   the  highway  thus  open-  ' 
public  steam  thoroughfare  by  which 
alt h  of  the  State  can  be-  reached 
•unsferred.     The   scheme   is   in  every 
particular    a     plausible     and    praiseworthy 
'.ne.     The    incorporators   deserve,   and    will 
undoubtedly  meet  with  success  in  the  first 
their  double  undertaking,  but  it  is 
"iid  part  for  which  the\*  particularly 
merit    the   thank-   of   their    fellow  citizens, 
though    capital    and    energy  united  in  any! 
enterprise  should  meet  with   proper 
nition.     Our  State  is  pre-eminently  one  of 
progress,  but  it  is  seldom  that  even   here,  a 
movement  is  inaugurated  which  must  result  , 
in   such    widespread    and    permanent    good. 
Speed  the  dav  when  the  two  gangs  of  drill  : 
men  meet  under  Loveland  Pass. 


From,  the  Georgetown  Miner,  July  23,>i88r. 

TUNNELING  THE  DIVIDE. 

Xo  natural  obstacle  "in  this  age  is  insur- 
mountable to  the  -kill  and  energy  of  science 
and    capital.         The    Mississippi    has    been 
•d    till   even    a   rural   board   of  county 
"uld  do  it.     The  continent 


of  North  America  will  soo- 
dozen   independent   trunk   lines.       A  trip  to 
Europe  is  only  a  matter  of  eight  or  ten  day:-. 
And  now  they  want  to  go  through,  instead  of 
over   the    Rocky   Mountains,    and    almost  :is 
soon   as  the   desire   is  expressed,  men 
work  going-  through. 

The   Loveland  Pass  Mining  and  Railroad 
Tunnel   Company  tiled   their  articles   of  in- 
corporation  with  the  Secretary  of  Sti 
Denver,  this  week,  and  began  operati 
both    sides    of   Lovehir 
run  a  tunnel,  from   :.*>,<•• 

under  it.  The  dcsiyn  is  two-fold,  to  strike 
the  rich  lodes  there,  and  to  build  a  railroad 
connecting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  <lop< •.-. 

As   a    mining  venture  only,  the  sdi< 

iian   likely  to   b< 
will  probably  pay  back  the  original  : 

•  hundred  times  over.  Hut  as  a  rail- 
nierprise,  it  must  be  of  incalculable 
benefit,  not  only  to  the  promoters,  but  TO  the 
thousands  of  wine  owners,  who  for  years 
have  been  compelled  to  hold  properties 
worth  millions,  simply  for  want  of  railroad 
cheap  rates  to  a  market.  The  proposed  line 
Avill  bring  Denver  and  Leadville  within  i'2<> 
miles  of  each  other  by  rail,  or  from  eight  to 
ten  hours,  and  the  change  si-eking  (.. 
towner  can  breakfast  here  and  din« 
Camp.  Those  who  in  times  past  have 
braved  the  dangers  and  d'  of  the 

High  Line  Stages,  will  rise  up  and  call  the 
directors  of  this  enterprise  pretty  nearly 
square. 

Loveland    Pass    is   the   natural   oni! 
Summit  county,  and   the  million- 
low  grade  ore  awaiting  shipment  at  I  > 
Chihuahua.   Montezuma.  Brecken  ridge,  Ten 
Mile    and    all    that    western    country,    will 
crowd  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  ne1- 
for  years  to  come. 

By  tl  •incut,  Dillon,  at   the  forks 

of  tlie  Blue,  the  Snake  and  Ten  Mile,  bids 
fair  to  become  a  great  railroad  centre.  The 
Rio  Grande  and  South  Park  are  building,  as 
fast  as  work  can  be  crowded,  down  the  Blue 
and  up  the  Snake,  while  from  Kokomo  the 
iron  monster  is  steadily  pushing  on  towards 
the  common  centre. 

Georgetown  cannot  fail  to  lie  great' 
eihed.  She  has  well-established,  smoothly- 
running  mills,  and  the  anxious  miner  will 
sell  at  the  nearest  market.  Thousand--  upon 
thousands  of  tons  of  precious  metals  from 
over  the  range  will  accordingly  come  her? 
for  treatment,  and  we  will  truly 

than    ever    '  Silver  <thieen   of  the 

Rock 


